I started The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (fantasy 662 pages) about a week ago on the recommendation of the husband of a coworker. He discussed the book and had some pretty amazing things to say about it. I was curious and so borrowed the book from him.

The very first thing that sticks with me about this book is how absolutely well-written it is. I could tell that the author took a great deal of time and patience to write the story and provide it with the level of detail and the level of craftsmanship that went into the creation of this story.

Normally, I’m not really a fan of stories that aren’t chronologically ordered. I tend to get frustrated if a story jumps between the past and the present or the future and it tends to throw me out of the story and annoys me. This story moves smoothly and with good reason between the past and the present. I feel that the Chronicler adds a very valid reason as to why the story is structured the way it is and how to tell a story that happens both in the past and is told though it is happening in the present.

This is definitely a book that is not a quick or fast read. It is extremely in-depth and a very compelling story. The main character, Kvothe, spends a lot of this book in a lot of painful, uncomfortable situations. And as with many of the books that I find myself the most drawn to, he is far from perfect. His life through his first years are filled with such full and detailed descriptions of the full spectrum of emotions and physical sensations that it’s difficult to not feel sympathy for him. Not just sympathy, though, but the love of the road and of his family. These descriptions are so artfully done that I could feel the emotions myself as the story progressed. The book provided a vivid description of a fantasy world and described everything so well that the story felt real to me.

As far as characters go, it’s always refreshing to see characters and heroes that don’t always know what they’re doing and don’t always have the perfect solution to every problem. I don’t necessarily like the characters and heroes of stories to fail or die trying, but I do have a healthier respect for them as characters if they have to work to get to the point of being a hero.

The story leaves just enough mystery surrounding the circumstances of the characters and the potential for more evil to come that I would look forward to reading the next book in the series. But I’m not so compelled that I must have that sequel at this very moment. I suspect that it can wait for a bit before I borrow the sequel. So the story is good and the characters feel real, but the book ended in a decent place and I’m in no big rush to get to the sequel.